


Fly Me To The Moon

by Uskius



Series: Uskius Talex Fanfic [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Explicit Language, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 16:17:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4398803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uskius/pseuds/Uskius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After reading some Talex fanfic, it seems like they are all about girly things like feelings and relationship problems, and I decided to change that! This is an action-packed and flat-out ridiculous story, but still, I guess there are some feelings and stuff in here, too. In this story, Tobin and the rest of the team race to rescue Alex from Lionel Messi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fly Me To The Moon

It was six sixty-six the morning of Friday the Thirteenth when Lionel Messi rode forth from Hell. There was a blood red moon in the sky, and Lux Aeterna was playing everywhere as the football virtuoso's fiery chariot blazed across the turbulent heavens.

The U.S.A.'s Women's National Team coach Tom Sermanni was sipping coffee on his front porch when he saw. He sighed. It was well known that long ago Vince Russo had prophesied this day would come, when "the lion shalt ride forth to conquer the heavens", and cause much destruction. He also knew that it had been written that he would "ride upon a foal", and Sermanni knew exactly who that was: Baby Horse herself, Alex Morgan. "There is no way I can let this happen!" Tom said, as a volcano exploded in the background. "He shall not lay a hand on any of my team, nor shall he conquer anything other than the secret of how to stop playing Candy Crush!" The earth trembled at these words, and Coach went inside to make a conference call. It was time to get the team together.

~oOo~

Alex Morgan was glued to the TV. "And we've been getting reports from numerous sources that Messi's entourage of possessed soccer players have been decimating the cities below the chariot. They've been unstoppable, even tear gas and machine guns have had no effect. We can only guess at what Messi himself is capable of..."

"I really hope this is some kind of elaborate prank," Kelley O'Hara said as she walked in with her pint of Guinness Extra Stout.

"It's on every freaking channel, so if it's a prank it's pretty damn good one." Alex Morgan responded, as she sipped her dragon blood and whiskey drink. She flipped to a random channel, winding up on CNN.

"What we're going to switch to, ladies and gentlemen, is a shot as close to Messi and his entourage as we can get. This is a live feed." The coverage now showed a distant view of a chariot zooming across the skies, with a long trail of orange-red glowing people floating along behind it. The occasional fiery ball shot down, exploding upon some poor building or slow bystander. The camera followed one of the balls, and beneath the flames it seemed to be a soccer ball! There was a disorienting move back to the front of the formation, and in Lionel Messi's eyes glowed a terrible and triumphant fire. There was another quick move, this time focusing on one of the glowing players, who shot down a flaming ball to take out a coffee shop. "Kelley, they're here! I go to that Starbucks all the time!"

"And that was Abby!"

"Abby who?"

"Abby Wambach, our teammate! She's on Messi's side!" Just then Alex's phone rang.

"It's from Coach Tom. Hello? Yes, hold on I'll put you on speaker phone, Kelley is here with me." After a few beeps, Tom Sermanni's manly voice filled the room.

"Alex, Kelley, these are dire times. I need to bring the team together, it may be the only hope we have."

"I'm sorry coach, but we can't shoot flaming balls out of nowhere and fly. The military needs to handle this."

"Bullshit. Simple science, Alex. For every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction. From what I've seen so far Messi's group has not moved a single inch any time they fire one of those balls, and those things have blown up buildings the size of your average house. Given the mass of soccer balls, any one of those people could level an entire city in minutes, and could withstand thousands of rounds of ammunition. The military won't be able to do anything of consequence in this situation."

"Then what's our team going to do?!" Alex bawled.

"You are going to draw on all of your training, and utilize all of your techniques."

"If tear gas and machine guns don't work, then what the Hell could a banana kick do?" Shouted Kelley.

"I think you misunderstood me when I said all of your techniques."

"Coach, what are you getting at?" Alex asked with tearfulness.

"Your special training. The Women's National Team only accepts those whose techniques have gone beyond the ordinary, Alex. I am aware of your training with Bill Cosby, and Kelley's apprenticeship with David Bowie. It is those mystic techniques we will need you to now draw on."

"Guys, this is Tobin. We've got a helicopter coming your way, so just hold on tight."

"I'm about to freak out, Messi's here in town!"

"I know, coach told me. I'm on the helicopter, and Kriegs is here with me. We're gonna try to get you in and out as fast as we can, to meet up with the rest of the team."

"Speaking of the rest of the team, Abby won't be joining us..." Kelley said with feelings of betrayal.

"What do you mean, won't be joining us?" Asked a new voice. It was Carli Lloyd.

"I'm mean she's with Messi, that's what! And besides getting to the meeting what are we going to do about Messi? The guy looks like a flaming Dr. Manhattan and is riding a fucking chariot through the air that isn't even being pulled by anything!"

"I know exactly what to do about Messi," Replied Sermanni calmly. "But it all hinges on you and Alex getting out of there safely."

"Alex, I can see your house from the chopper!" Called Tobin. "Get ready to go!"

"No, no no no..." That quiet phrase of scaredness caught Alex's attention, and she looked to the TV screen.

"COACH, MESSI IS ONLY A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!"

"We're about to touch down in your back yard, make a run for it!" Ali Krieger shouted. Alex and Kelley could now hear the helicopter blades turning, and quickly put on their shoes; they had no time to change from their sweats. The back door burst open, revealing a burning sky to Alex. Right in front of her was the chopper, Tobin and Ali waving her in.

"Oh thank God, we made it..." Alex slumped down in relief in one of the seats.

"While you're thanking Him, try asking for a little help, too." Ali suggested. "We're gonna have Messi on our trail until we get to the bunker!" And no sooner than Ms. Krieger finished the sentence did the roar of Messi's chariot fill the air. The helicopter lifted up, with the chariot and legion of footballers a house length behind it. "Tobs, take the other side for me!" Leaning half out of the helicopter, the two held out soccer balls that appeared into their hands, and dropped them for a kick. Tobin's ball curved out to bean one of the lead players in the entourage in the head, then bounced back to explode in a ball of light against Messi himself. It seemed to annoy him but it was hard to tell just how much damage it did at a distance. Ali's ball hit one of the lead players in the gut, and exploded into dozens of balls that ricocheted around the the front ranks. The twin attacks did their job well and slowed down Messi's army just a bit, and the pilot opened up the throttle and shot off.

"Ali, Tobin... you guys can do the ball trick too?" Alex asked.

"It was the first thing Morgan Freeman taught me," Tobin answered. "It actually came pretty easily to me, a lot easier than the martial arts and other things he taught me."

"It seems like I've known how to do it my whole life," Ali said. "It naturally happened once when I was frustrated and had just kicked the ball I'd brought to practice with. Another one was just there in front of me, and I kicked it."

"My first ball was like that too," Kelley added.

"It kinda sucks this is the way we first told each other about it," Tobin said. "But Coach knows what's going on. He'll get us through this." The other ladies nodded, and no one spoke for a few minutes.

"How far is it to the bunker?" Wondered Kelley.

"About ten more minutes," Ali spoke. "It took somewhere around fifteen to fly over here."

"Messi's regained the space!" The pilot- who just so happened to be Megan Rapinoe- shouted. "Hold him off!" Tobin Heath started to get up, but Alex waved her down.

"I'll take this turn." Holding on tight, Alex leaned out of the helicopter to get a view of Messi and his followers. They were about a hundred yards behind, but with the assist from the helicopter's speed she figured she could make the gap. Forming a ball, Alex dropped it down and kicked it. "Thunder Sword!" The ball lanced into the soccer players like a bolt of lightning, bursting with electricity and a large sonic boom that knocked a few people out of the sky. Kriegs hit another scatter shot, which worked well with Alex's Thunder Sword to further disorient Messi's followers. "Time for the Cosby Special," Smirked Alex, looking over at Tobin. This ball arced in, and violently exploded with a gigantic wave of chocolate pudding.

"That should be good for another few minutes!" Rapinoe announced. She shifted into fifth gear and the helicopter went into full speed.

"When did Pinoe learn to fly a helicopter?" Kelley asked, after a couple minutes of breathless silence.

"Ten years ago," Ali answered. "And from what coach said, it seems like she does a lot of flying for the team."

~You think you know someone~... Alex thought. "What'll we do about Messi when we get to this bunker place? He'll be right behind us, and probably try to force his way in."

"Coach said the bunker is well hidden and pretty secure," Ali said with a shrug. "We'll probably have a few of us guard the entrance just in case." After what seemed like only another minute, Megan announced they were closing in on the bunker.

"I thought you said it'd be another ten minutes," Kelley said.

"Well, we weren't going full speed on the way in," Answered Tobin.

"Messi's closed the gap already! Hold him off while I try to land!" Alex and Ali sprang up, hanging out of the sides. Alex hit another Cosby Special, while Ali's ball exploded into a vast cloud of smoke. After a few heart-stopping moments, Messi's chariot broke through the cloud.

"How do we even slow him down, this is ridiculous!" Worried Alex.

"I'll take care of him," Tobin said. "You guys go on ahead to the bunker, don't wait for me!" With that, Tobin Heath jumped out of the helicopter... and caught one of the blades. She held on, swinging around in a blur, and then shot off like a cannon aimed straight at Messi's chariot. On contact it explodiated twice, the shockwave causing the chopper to rock. But Lionel was still alive! He followed Tobin Heath down as she fell, with exchanging of furious martial arts maneuvers. Messi had a style of Muay Thai and Jeet Kun Do, while Tobin evaded his strikings with artful Baguazhong defenses. Then Tobin saw small opening, like of kind when a warrior only thinks of offense. "Nail Punch!" The energy from technique burst from Messi's side and metatarsals, with the bloodiness of ruptured veins and arteries. Tobin pushed off from Messi, only to see the ground rushing up. She could not fly, but was of learning to float and did so to not impact the earth at full speed...

Meanwhile, the helicopter landed safely! Alex and the other ladies stepped out, and Kelley could not believe what she saw. "Here...? Like seriously, this is where the bunker is?"

"It's the closest you can get to an abandoned warehouse without being suspicious," Ali answered. She opened the door to the Nickelback Superstore, and watched for Tobin. She waited a few long seconds with no sign, then sighed and went in with the others. They passed many cool Nickelback posters and CD's, into the employee break room. There was hidden elevator behind snack machine, and they went down several floors. The elevator doors opened to long future-looking hallway, but they only went down a few doors and walked into one on the right.

"Ah, you've made it!" Exclaim Coach Sermanni, weeping manly tears that could cure cancer. He embraced Alex and the rescue team, with many pats on the back going around. "But where's Tobin?"

"She..." Alex started, with a regretful stare at the ground, "She jumped out of the helicopter to try to slow down Messi. There was an explosion, and..." Alex started to cry a little, and Coach started a big group hug that everyone joined in on.

"I'm going to miss her so much," Said a familiar voice. They all looked around, and it was Tobin! Her combat vest and pants were scruffy and dirty, but she was smiling. "I had a rough landing, but I managed to hit Messi with a Nail Punch. I don't think he'll be bothering us for a while."

"Well done!" Coach Tom said, giving Tobin a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Come, let's all be seated so we can begin." Alex took a seat next to Tobin, and saw many familiar faces from the Women's National Team. "Now, I'm sure you are all aware of the current crisis involving Lionel Messi. But what many of you may not know is that this day was long ago foretold by a great prophet. Russo said that 'the lion'- who is clearly Messi- would 'ride forth on a foal to conquer the heavens'. Can any of you tell me what a foal is also called?"

"A baby horse," Rachel Buehler said. She immediately clapped her hand over her mouth in horror, and a gasp of shock ran around the table.

"Indeed. Lionel Messi's crusade will be centered around capturing Ms. Morgan, so it is of the utmost importance to keep her safe." There were nerve-breaking moments of silence, until Rachel spoke again.

"Coach, what do you think this prophecy means when it talks about conquering the heavens?"

"Ah. Well, I can only assume it means Messi seeks to control all of creation. After making a deal with the devil to gain his power, it seems likely he would want to dominate Heaven or get them on his side, to break off his deal; and from there bring the whole universe under his power." Coach looked around the table, and continued. "And again, since his campaign is focused on Ms. Morgan, there is but one way to get him off her trail..."

Sydney Leroux had a sudden idea, and turned to face Sermanni. "No, you don't mean that, do you?"

"That is exactly what I mean. You see, to keep Messi from pursuing Alex, she... has to die." Coach let the room explode with outrages, then held up his hand for silence. "But since Alex is far too valuable to sacrifice, we will instead fake her death. Messi has excellent senses, so it will have to be very convincing- Alex, dear, that will most likely involve you taking a few hits for the team."

"I'll do it," Alex said with no hesitations.

Coach nodded, and continued. "This is my plan: it will start with one of you giving a hard foul to Alex during a practice session. Those two will then start to argue about the foul, and will then shift to a different topic. It could be personal or silly, as long as it gets very heated. Now then, other players will come over to try to break up the argument, and things will turn physical. Alex and the one who fouls her will start fighting, intensely enough so that the others back off a bit. Ah- I should mention that this will be happening in a specific spot on the field: top right corner of the box facing to the East- because there, we will have set up a pit and an escape route for Alex. The one who gets into the argument with her will cause a large explosion, and before the dust clears we will get Alex into the pit and away." Coach took a deep breath. "Now, do we have any volunteers, or Alex, would you like to choose who argues with you?" There were of many nervous looks around the table, and Alex opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. For many long moments no one raised their hand.

"I volunteer." There were many surprised eyebrow raisings at the table.

"Okay. Alex, are you comfortable with Tobin being the one?"

Alex thought of this, and of her being friends with Tobin. She trusted her, off the field and on, to be a good friend, willing to help. "Yes. I'm fine with it being her." Alex looked beside her at Tobin, and gave her hand a small squeeze. Tobin looked very serious, which surprised Alex a little.

"I promise I won't let everyone down," Vowed Tobin with great promising.

"Alright then. Now, for the other ladies, I will ask you to neutralize Messi's followers. I am confident in your abilities to do this, but it also means you will have to risk getting close to Messi himself to do so."

"Fine with me," Kelley said. "I want to personally bitch slap his sorry ass for going after Alex." There were many agreement murmurings around the room, and Coach Tom nodded.

"Very well. The practice will be held tomorrow at eight forty-two in the morning. This meeting is adjourned."

~oOo~

It was a night of few sleeps in the bunker, with many tossings and turnings. Everyone wanted to share a room with Alex but in the end she only let Tobin in. They both stared up at the ceiling, glancing over at the other's bed wondering if they were awake or not. Then finally Tobin asked, "Alex, are you awake?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"I'm just... worried about tomorrow..."

"Me too..."

"I'm worried about what people will think; to them it's going to look like... like I killed you, even though that's the opposite of what I'm trying to do."

This surprised Alex a little, as Tobin usually wasn't concerned with other's opinions. "Well after we beat Messi they'll know what you did."

"Yeah, but I don't want people getting the idea that I would hurt my friends. I mean, you could label it as an isolated incident, but still..."

"Tobs, everybody and their dog knows you wouldn't hurt one of us, you're one of the nicest people I know. Now turn on the lamp and get over here, I know just the thing to take your mind off tomorrow..." Tobin switched on the lamp, and stepped over to Alex's bed. The two then spent the rest of the night sharing their hot, passionate love... of Bananagrams. Tobin easily won the first few games, her focus being on an epic level. Alex soon caught up, and it remained close until the alarm clock went off at six in the morning. With reluctance they then got ready for practice, showering and then eating breakfast with the rest of the team. Alex held off on her whiskey with her dragon blood, instead just drinking the essence of the dragons pure. There was inscrutable look of silence on Tobin's face. They all tried to act like normal, but all were still tense, trading shifty glances. The tension was reaching the breaking point, and then Coach Sermanni walked in with boombox, setting it on a table. He pressed play, and the Harlem Shake music started playing. Everyone looked around and shifted around in their chairs, waiting for the moment. Then at the drop they all got up and danced wild, smiling and jumping up on the tables and doing silly moves with the music. Then as suddenly as it began, Coach turned off the boombox and stood on a chair.

"Today! We are cancelling the apocalypse!" The whole room cheered, and choir of angels shout in triumph at these words. "Messi has had his hour; our time is now! For a time darkness may reign, but it is only a passing dream in the face of eternal light! You, my ladies, are now the light of the world, the last great hope in the face of oblivion. When future generations look back on this day, they will say, 'damn, I wish I had a Klondike Bar', and they will weep bitterly for not being able to taste the sweetness of this victory. Now who is ready to go and kick some balls?!" There was another big roar of happiness and determination, and Coach led the team to the secret exit of the bunker and out to the pitch.

It was of open practice, with some media people and a few million fans on hand. The crowd ate hotdogs and sang Fandango's entrance music while the tam warmed up and did some passing drills, then switched to doing the We Will Rock You beat. Just a tiny bit, Alex began to enjoy the practice, with all the happy fans there it was kinda fun. But as they switched to dribbling drills in formation, and then to shooting practice, Alex began to grow nervous, like storm clouds moving in over a blue sky and field of golden wheat. Finally Coach let them take a water break. Tobin gave nervous glance and nod to Alex, who looked away and gulped down her Gatorade.

Then the scrimmage game started, with Tobin covering Alex and sticking close by. Alex got to see Tobin's defending skills, the other girl making her pass off her "weak" foot and pressuring her towards the sideline. It remained with no score for several minutes of tough play, but finally Alex saw a good chance to make a pass to Sydney, who would be wide open in front of the box. She looked up to make the pass, and with no warning Tobin slammed into her from the side, tripping her up and hitting her neck with an elbow. Alex went down hard, getting a grass stain all down her right side. "Tobin, what in the Hell was that?!"

"Just keeping you from getting the ball Syd."

"Oh, just keeping me from getting the ball to Syd, sure. You know, you could have just slide tackled me, or held my jersey."

"Well maybe I'll do that next time." Tobin said, stepping in close to Alex.

"Next time?!" Alex shouted. She looked down, and saw she was close to the top right corner. "Back off." She said, shoving Tobin away.

"Don't touch me!"

"What? What?! You give me a hard foul like that, and you say 'don't touch me'?! That's bullshit!"

"What were you expecting me to do? I'm just trying to practice how I'll play."

"Practice how you'll-" Alex lunged forwards, but Megan Rapinoe and Sydney were there to keep her away, and Alex heard some of the other girls jogging over.

"Alex, Tobin, cool it." Megan said. "This isn't worth it just for-"

"Shut up, Pinoe. Stay out of this." Interrupted Tobin.

"I will say what I want to, and I think you two are taking this way to far for just a scrimmage game in practice!"

"She's right, Tobin." Alex said. "We're on the same team, aren't we supposed to be friends?"

Tobin shook off Sydney, and stepped closer to Alex. "Friends? Friends?! What kind of friend implies they're 'lonely at the top' when they're on a team? Huh?"

Alex's look of shock was real, she didn't think Tobin would bring this up. She struggled to think of a response, and then shoved Tobin's shoulder again before answering. "So that's what this is about? You're jealous of my fame? Well you know what, it doesn't matter that you have two gold medals, or two championship wins this year! You could do a quadruple nutmeg and people still wouldn't care about you!"

"Well at least the fans I do have aren't all shallow douchebags who only care about how I look! Ever since that Sports Illustrated shoot you've been more like a porn star than an actual soccer player!" Alex slapped Tobin, who immediately slapped her back. Sydney and Megan and the others nearby tried to keep Tobin and Alex apart, but they broke free and started throwing punches. Sydney managed to get a hold of Tobin, but was promptly thrown off with a quick twist, and the fight resumed with more intensity. The two began to reveal the martial arts techniques they had learned; Alex with her Dragon Style kung fu, and Tobin with her baguazhong and tai chi. Tobin whirled and flowed in circles around Alex with her defenses, trying to contain the majestic aggression of Alex's Dragon Style to the top right corner of the box. The two both gained a tough respect for the other's martial arts. The fight became intense, like an ocean whirlpool destroying a ship. Tobin saw a small opening as she circled around Alex; her arm would be up a tad too high as she changed position to spin around. With no waiting she leaned in as Alex turned to face her. "Nail Punch!"

Alex gasped with surprise as the pain flared out from her ribs and out to her arms and head, the punch's energy bursting out with bloodiness from her wrists and points around the top of her head. "T- Tobin..."

Tobin gulped, and formed a soccer ball in her hand. "I'm sorry, Alex. I love you..." She whispered, and flung down the soccer ball at Alex, explodiating it right before it hit. There was a big explosion of golden light, tearing up big parts of the pitch and heaving them into the air. After it faded, Alex opened her eyes. She was still on the pitch, and Tobin was nowhere in sight! Then like a nightmare that kept getting worse, O Fortuna started playing and Lionel Messi and his followers descended from the heavens.

"Behold, I have come for you, my bride!" Messi shouted with triumph. He touched down a little ways away from Alex, and Kelley O'Hara and Megan Rapinoe stepped between them. Messi didn't look as flame-like as he had the day before, but his eyes still burned with flames. "Truly it is meet and right that she should be mine, has she not proven today how special she is?"

"Too special for you!" Megan shouted at Lionel.

"You don't understand," Messi replied, shaking his head. "It can be counted on one hand, the number of people who have survived a Nail Punch. They are both here today. And furthermore, miss Morgan was able to redirect Tobin Heath's attack back at her- and do you see Tobin anywhere around?" No one answered Messi, giving angry and hurt looks to him. "But it goes beyond that: there is a special quality to her P.S.I. that no one else has. It is the tender blessing of the heavens, a warm breeze on a Summer's day. It alone is the key to breaking into the upper heights that so few have seen."

Alex fearfully thought of this news. Her mentor Bill Cosby had said she was special, but at the time Alex had thought nothing of it. She didn't think her Pneuma per Square Inch was that interesting, it was just her; everyone's P.S.I. was different. Though her wrists and head were in excruciating pain, Alex pushed herself up and faced Messi. "I will never be your bride, and won't go anywhere with you! The only thing I'm going to break today is your face."

"Bold words, but you cannot fight against fate. This union was foretold long ago-"

"I don't think anyone here gives a fuck about this prophecy you're talking about," Megan broke in. "If you want Alex, you're going to have to take her from us."

Messi nodded. "Which actually was what I was planning to do, but there being a few more of you here than I thought makes no difference."

Kelley walked up and spat in Messi's face. "If you think numbers don't make a difference, then you've never seen anyone like me before."

Messi wiped off his face, glaring at Kelley. "Very well, you shall be the first. Abby, engage miss Rapinoe while I-" Kelley snuck in a low blow, and then slapped Messi so hard her palm bled from grating against his stubble. After a double leg takedown Kelley sat high on Messi's ribs, pummeling him with hard fists of fury and elbow strikes to his throat. Eventually Messi was able to bridge up and throw Kelley off. He recovered very fast, and swarmed Kelley with a flurry of knee and elbow strikes. Kelley served up some hard blocks, but it felt like Messi would snap her shins and forearms if she kept that up too long, so she distanced herself and split into five! The copies all launched balls at Messi, who did a tornado kick to deflect all of them. Two of Kelley clones were hit and poofed into smoke, and the remaining three raced in to attack. Kelley used many fast punches and kicks with great speed, hitting Messi from many angles. For a moment it looked like she would prevail but Lionel endured and took out one of the clones with a rising back elbow, then switched into a side kick. The kick connected with the real Kelley, who was knocked back several feet. It was a tough hit, but she was able to get back up, and form a soccer ball. She launched it over Messi's head, and her clone kicked it back down at Messi. However, Lionel was expecting this when it went over his head, so he ducked and the shot came straight at Kelley! She caught it and threw it down at Lionel, scoring a direct hit, the ball exploding with with bright sky blue flames!

But still Messi got back up, and he had the burning fires of a thousand dying suns in his eyes of fury. He sensed the Kelley clone coming at him from the back and he dodged, grabbing it and throwing it at Megan Rapinoe as she fought with Abby. He resumed his many elbow and knee strikes, using great speed to move around Kelley. One of her blocks caused a hard pain in her forearm, and instead of keeping it raised she cradled it to her chest, which allowed Messi to get in a tough shin kick to her head. Messi saw that Kelley had a determined tough look on her face and was slowly getting back up, so he picked her up by her hurt arm and threw her far away, and then turned to Alex...

Meanwhile, Megan was having a difficult time against Abby. Megan was very nimble, but Abby also had a good speed, and used very strong and direct strikes. Rapinoe was suffering under heavy hits, Abby reading her defenses well. She was able to land some crafty counter strikes, but so was Abby, they both knew each other's styles well. It was as if a left hand was trying to beat the right hand in a thumb wrestling contest, except with more kicks and violence. Megan was able to block a right from Abby and get an overhook on the arm, trapping it and scoring a surgical right uppercut to Abby's solar plexus, quickly transitioning into a ippon seio nage. Her downwards punishing fist missed Abby, who rolled up into a ready stance. "How could you betray the team like this?!"

"None of you understand Messi's plan!" Replied Abby, while dodging elegant savate kicks from Megan. "He wants to break into Heaven so he can use their power to destroy Hell! Imagine what that would be like!"

"There are some things you should earn!" Yelled Megan, landing a very tough front kick to Abby's hip that spun her around, tripping her up.

As Megan was readying a very powerful soccer ball to launch at Abby, Lionel Messi approached Alex Morgan. Alex put her game face on and tried a big punch at Messi. He still had his good reflexes, and caught Alex's arm, putting his thumb on a pressure point to disable Alex's wrist. She cried out with humbled defeatedness, and sank to her knees. Lionel looked down at her with savage triumph, and picked her up into his arms. "Come, my children, my bride: the way is open!" Messi flew into the air, as volcanoes explodiated with magma in the shape of hordes of dragons who flew low over the stadium, their roars sounding like a planet breaking in half. Messi's followers flew up after him, and Megan's powerful ball exploded onto empty turf with the sound of a wailing banshee.

There were many players hurt from their tough battles. Kelley was nursing her hurt forearm, and Kristen Mewis had a bruise on her shoulder that looked exactly like the Mona Lisa. Like a light bulb switching on, there was another explosion, Tobin Heath reappearing on the field. "Where's Alex?!" There were nervous glances all around the team, but none dared to answer. Finally Coach Tom stepped up beside Tobin, and pointed to the sky, where Messi could be seen flying away. Tobin swore very loudly, and sank down to her knees to pound the turf in frustration. Sermanni sat down with Tobin as she began to cry hot and stinging tears. "What... what if those things I said to her are the last she ever hears from me?" Tobin wondered sadly. Coach Tom had no answer, and put his arm around Tobin's shoulder for a hug.

Suddenly Sad But True by Metallica started playing, and there was the loud sound of a motorcycle filling the arena. Down from the sky came a Harley with flaming wheels, riding around in circles until it skidded to a stop near the team. It was Pia Sundhage! She was wearing a leather jacket with metal studs on the shoulders and mirrored sunglasses, and was smoking a lasagna cigar. She put it out on the back of the neck of Cristiano Ronaldo, whom Kristen Mewis had defeated moments ago. She lifted up her shades and asked, "Anybody need a ride?"

"C-Coach Pia?" Stuttered Hope Solo, in amazement.

"Indeed," Nodded Pia. "If I'm taking anyone we better make it quick, Dan Quayle is only loaning the bike to me until sunset." Tobin wiped her tears away, and stood up.

"I'll go with you." Many other players stood and volunteered also, but Pia waved for silence.

"I can only take two, ladies. Sorry." Snapping her fingers a cool sidecar appeared, that had a flaming skull wearing black triangle glasses on it. "So that's Tobin and who else?"

Quickly, Kelley jogged over. "Me! I'll go with Tobin."

"Alright," Pia answered, and turned to Coach Sermanni. "Tom, you know where the airship is?" Coach Tom nodded. "Okay, hop in! It's time to go kick some balls!" Tobin got on behind Pia, and Kelley jumped in the sidecar, suddenly gaining a cool pair of green triangle glasses. Sad But True started playing again, and the Harley took off at full speed. There were a few breathless minutes of pure speed, and then Tobin adjusted to the majestic rushing of winds.

"Where are you taking us?" Tobin shouted over the winds.

"After Messi!"

"Where is he headed?" Kelley asked.

"To the Moon That Never Sets." Pia pointed, and squinting against the wind Tobin and Kelley could see the blood red moon that had been in the sky since yesterday. "When Messi broke out of Hell, the P.S.I. and space-time energies condensed into that mass. It's been speculated since his ride out that Messi intends to use it as some sort of key to break into Heaven."

"And now he has the thing that he needs to turn the key!" Added Kelley. "Can you go any faster?"

"The protonic reversal engine is running at full capacity! Any more power in the system would cause a mass fission event!" Kelley huffed in frustration, then she got an idea. She turned around in the sidecar, then focused her P.S.I. and shot it out as a huge jet of sky-blue fire, boosting the speed of the Harley.

"Tobin, what are we going to do once we get there?" Kelley asked, looking over.

"When we get there, I swear upon every soul that has ever dreamed of the deep heart of the sky that I will hit Messi with a full power Nail Punch and save Alex! We'll go straight in, so that he knows we're coming and will tremble in fear when he sees our eyes!" Though the moon grew closer with every moment, it stll loomed far away, an unstolen jewel out of reach. Messi and his followers were nowhere in sight, but after several minutes the Moon That Never Sets seemed to fill the whole sky, and there was a wide entrance looming up ahead, like the throat of a legend...........ary beast. They skidded to a stop like a comet colliding with the face of a mountain, fire and trembling of the ground announcing their presence. It was easy place to navigate, just a long hall straight back, and they could see some people there at the end. "Thanks for the ride, Pia."

"The least I could do. Now hurry!" Kelley and Tobin hopped off, and ran up to the back of the Moon That Never Sets. Kelley could see an elaborate wall, which Alex was kneeling down in front of. Messi and his few remaining followers were beside her watching intently.

"Alex!" Kelley called. She and everyone else at the wall turned around in surprise.

"You're here!" Alex said with great hopefulness. Lionel focused his steely gaze on Kelley and Tobin as they arrived, his glare like the wrath of Liam Neeson in Taken.

"You're too injured to fight," Lionel said to Kelley, "And you are supposed to be dead." He said to Tobin.

"Bad habit of mine, I guess." Tobin replied with a shrug. "And speaking of people being dead, you better let Alex go right now."

"Woman, please. I survived a Nail Punch, there's nothing you can do to me! If I wanted right now I coul-" And for the second time that day, Kelley spit in Messi's face and slapped him so hard her palm bled from grating against his stubble.

"Tobin, go and free Alex! I'll handle Messi until then!" As Tobin nodded and stepped off, Kelley split into seven, using virtuosic Taekwondo to down three of Messi's followers. However, Abby was among them and was able to dodge and defend the assault from one of the clones. Kelley saw Messi try to sneak off and get at Tobin, and directed a few of her clones to hedge him off.

"You're too late, Kelley! The way has almost been opened!"

"You're wrong, Abby! The only way to do things is through friendship! Alex didn't want to come here and do this, and Messi certainly didn't make any friends on the way here!"

"You don't get it! Sometimes you have to take a stand even when no one's standing with you!" Abby used a strong knee to a clone's ribs to pop it, and moved in throw a rush of attacks at Kelley, mixing in high and low kicks and punches. Kelley kept using hard blocks with her good arm, and whirling counter kicks. Another of her nearest clones was popped by a backhand from Abby, and Kelley had to focus all on her...

Just a few yards ahead, Lionel Messi had burst all the Kelley clones that had been sent after him. He used sharp knees and punches to do it, but with so many clones he still got hit a few times, stinging blows to his ribs and back. He saw the intricate pattern of light pulsing out from where Alex's hands were sunk into the wall, that it was almost complete. "Still you fight destiny! You have come far too late!" Messi gloated, as Tobin tried to pull Alex from the wall. "When I have conquered Heaven I put in place a more perfect order, one where pain and fear no longer exist! I will be the true and holiest god!"

"There is only one true God, and you aren't Him!" Tobin said, turning to Messi. "And in the end you will suffer the fate of all who attempt to usurp the Creator!"

"...So be it," Lionel said in a low voice.

Tobin turned back to Alex, and saw how the pattern of lines was spreading, and got an idea. "Alex! Try to deflate and pull out!" Alex nodded, and tried to decrease the flow of her P.S.I. until it stopped but it was a great struggle.

"Tobin, it- it's drawing it out of me, I can't deflate all the way!" Tobin glanced back at the wall, and noted the swirling intricate lines of the pattern had almost stopped spreading. Summoning up a powerful ball, Tobin turned and slammed it against the wall, which shattered in a massive burst of golden red light. Behind the wall was a swirling vortex of starry darkness, and there was a sudden breeze rushing in towards it. Alex almost fell in, but Tobin caught her just in time and set her down against a wall.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Roared Messi. "I will rip out your heart and you will taste oblivion, which tastes like Red Bull which is awful!" He then rushed in to battle Tobin, using his very fastest elbow strikes and kicks. As before Tobin saw he was only thinking of offense, but it was hard to counter so many attacks and she took many hits to her ribs. After taking a hard knee to her stomach, Tobin grabbed Messi's leg and landed a fierce stomp on his other foot, which was still injured from her earlier Nail Punch. Messi put down a tough elbow onto Tobin's shoulder, but she endured and landed a thrusting punch to his also still injured side, then swept his leg and pushed him down with intense force. Tobin then sat down and applied a calf crunch submission, hoping to break Messi's shin, but he used stabbing kicks with his free leg, forcing her to let go. Lionel got back up, but instead of blocking and slipping Tobin used her tai chi and Baguazhong maneuverings to sting Messi with low kicks and stomps to his insteps. Eventually Messi caught on, and jumped to avoid another low kick. This was what Tobin had been waiting for, and she blew up her P.S.I. to its limit.

"Triple Nail Punch!" Messi felt three blows to his solar plexus, but only saw one thrown. The massive energy spiked out once again from his metatarsals and side, and also from his wrists and head and tearing out from his back. He trembled, and fell down to his knees, crying tears with blood. "Puny god..."

"Tobin! Get out of the way!" Alex was on her feet, and holding a ball. Tobin quickly dived out of the way, as Alex dropped it down for a kick. "Thunder Sword!" The powerful ball impacted Messi's face at high speed, bursting with a geyser of electricity and a loud sonic boom. Lionel Messi was knocked backwards into the twisting darkness, growing smaller and smaller until he disappeared with a twinkle. The wall then faded back in, looking red and fleshy like the rest of the tunnel... but it beat like a heart, and began to glow...

"Where am I...?" Abby gasped, finding herself on her hand and knees. Just a couple feet away was Kelley, who was in a similar position. "Wait, the moon, Messi... is he here?"

"He's gone," Alex said, breathing heavily. "For good."

"I, guys, I-" Abby began.

"Later," Tobin interrupted. "Right now I have a feeling we need to get out of here." Kelley nodded, and Abby helped her up as they walked to the entrance. The pulsing heartbeat of the Moon That Never Sets grew louder and became ominous, like a living countdown clock to destruction. The ladies began to jog, and soon saw Pia on the Harley.

"Get on!" She called, waving them over. "Tom's just outside with the airship, hurry!" Tobin and Alex got on the Harley with Pia, and Kelley and Abby ran down to the airship. It was a top-secret spy blimp, painted to look like clouds and a blue sky. The rest of the ladies from the team were there, and hastily pulled Kelley and Abby on. Pia zoomed on out ahead, and then the blimp sped up to join them, its hydrogen drive engine shifting into third gear and blasting off. It soon caught up with the Harley, and Alex and Tobin could see the concerned and relieved faces of Ali and their other teammates. Soon over the roar of the engines and rush of the wind Tobin could hear the heartbeat of the Moon That Never Sets, and she looked back: she could actually see it beating like a heart, shining with a terrible light. As she turned back to Pia to urge her to go faster, it explodiated! It was like the bright joy of a newborn sun, it was if it was a star had learned to speak after all it knew was how to bite, it was like the fart of an atomic bomb.

The blast wave rocked the blimp and the Harley, enough so that Alex tumbled out of the sidecar! "No!" Without waiting Tobin jumped off from behind Pia and dove down for Alex, using her floating skills to go faster. She soon caught up with Alex, and snatched her out of the air.

"Tobin!" There was a look of fear in Alex's eyes, for now Tobin was free falling too. Tobin saw they were going down towards a grassy field in a park, and then began to try floating upwards to brake. It was tough, especially while holding Alex, but Tobin saw they were slowing down and tried floating up even harder. Tobin felt they were slowing down more, but the ground was rushing up and she closed her eyes, and she focused on floating up with all her might. And then, she felt... nothing. She opened her eyes, and saw they were only a few yards above the ground, and with great relief she floated Alex and herself down to the grass. For a few moments they sat there, catching their breath as a gentle cool breeze blew over the field. Alex held Tobin's hand, and looked over at her. "What is it with you and jumping out of things mid-air?" Tobin smiled, and then began to laugh, and soon Alex was laughing, too.

Tobin pulled Alex in and hugged her like any good friend would, and as they embraced and started to cry happy tears, they heard the Harley and the engines of the blimp, and the rest of the team raced out for a big dogpile hug.

The End


End file.
